How soon should you eat before and after a work out?

I generally work out after work and then run my errands, etc, sometimes I do not end up eating for a few hours after my work out. Is that good for you? Should you eat right after a work out or does it depend on the type of work out you do?

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in my case after a good time of work out I like to consume a little bit of fruits, Generic Viagra, water, vegetables or why not a diet milkshake, but in general I like to wait at least two hours, is this a bad time or for the contrary is a good time?

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I was always taught to eat the protein first so you don't fill up on carbs. So if you are eating chicken and grits eat the chicken first, then you won't eat as many grits. What do you say CET? Will a protein shake work if you do strength training in the morning?

I'm no doctor, but I am a former personal trainer and bodybuilder, so hopefully my advice will have at least a bit of merit. ;-)
Before your work out, it depends on what kind of work out you're doing as to when you should eat. If you're working out in the morning, that's more of an issue then if you're working out after work. Just don't go into the gym with an appetite and do a strength workout. You'll see why in the next paragraph.
In the morning, you can get a great fat burning effect if you do an aerobic exercise before breakfast. However, don't strength train on an empty stomach! Not only will you be weak, but you'll be burning muscle to fuel your workouts instead of stored nutrients. You don't have hardly any stored nutrients in the morning, your body is nearly depleted on the fuels it needs, because you've been fasting for at least 8 hours (more likely 12 hours if you eat a few hours before bed).
After you work out, eat IMMEDIATELY! After a work out, your body is depleted, and is looking for building materials (anabolic state). If it cannot find the building materials through food, it will start breaking down muscle tissue (catabolic state). Eating after a work out helps you maintain all of your gains, as well as increase your metabolism.

I'd love to hear a real professional chime in one this; but, here's what I've been learned so far:
Before a workout - hours before... you want to start hydrating. Apparently drinking a lot of water during or even an hour before working out doesn't cut it. I understand that our bodies absorb water at a limited rate, so it is best to hydrate hours before we workout.
Carbs can apparently be burned pretty quickly for energy, but they are not necessarily a good source for a long cardio workout.
Ideally, I think we're supposed to eat small amounts more frequently up to 1 hour before a workout. This is supposed to help teach our bodies to burn fat instead of looking for those instant carbs and then being exhausted when they run out.
Something new I just learned is that right after you workout, you can eat/drink just a little bit of something naturally sweet like an apple, orange, or juice and it is supposed to kick your metabolism into the right gear reminding it not to burn muscle in the event you've depleted your carbs.
I also understand that you should eat some simple protein (chicken breast meat, etc) as soon after a workout as possible to encourage your body to burn fat instead of carbs or muscle for energy.
This has proven to work very well for me.
If you have better on information on this topic, please chime in.

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